Smart and Sexy Read online

  escaped her, and then again when one of his hands slid down her side and up, beneath her sweater, his fingers fanning gently across her ribs to barely, just barely, brush against the underside of her breast.

  The sensations were so lovely, she prayed they would never stop.

  But then he pulled back, and she saw why.

  A car went whipping down the highway. A nondescript SUV, moving way too fast.

  Looking for her and Noah…

  That had her brain firing at top speed, and she let out a breath, trying to control her racing heart. She carefully drew air into her lungs, uncomfortably aware of her body, quivering and tense and still straining toward his. “Smart move, hiding.”

  Noah didn’t say anything, didn’t move.

  How did he do that? she wondered. Was he totally and completely unaffected by this odd and inexplicable attraction? Or maybe it was all adrenaline for him, a release of that energy, nothing more. She slid a glance his way and found him looking at her with such a great intensity it blew her hair back, and…and when she took a peek at his button fly, she found something else.

  Okay, he wasn’t unaffected.

  That shouldn’t have made her feel better, but selfishly, it did. “Can we go now? And get to the resort?” She needed to get there. She had no idea how she’d gotten so lucky as to have him get rid of the bad guys for her, but he had, and she had things to do. “Noah?”

  “Not yet.”

  Not yet? Maybe he somehow missed her urgency—

  A second car whipped by on the highway. Also a nondescript SUV.

  She stared after it in shock. “Two? There were two of them?”

  Noah waited until the taillights faded from view, then started the engine of the Jeep.

  “How did you know there was a second car?” she asked, dazed.

  “Wrong question.” He maneuvered them back onto the highway, going back the way they’d come.

  “What do they want?”

  “Yeah, there’s the right question.” He looked over at her, because they both knew the truth. She knew what they wanted. She’d taken too long getting the money, and Stephen and his thugs had gotten antsy. They didn’t trust her.

  And now they wanted her blood to go with the cash.

  Noah turned into the resort. The road in was a mile long, lined by a vista of rugged mountain peaks that couldn’t be seen on a dark night like this. Thick with snow, the road forced Noah to take it slow, utilizing the four-wheel drive. Finally the tight, narrow curves opened into a large parking lot at the base of the resort. Though the buildings were unfinished on the inside, in true Alan style, the outside of the place looked ready and welcoming. Always the cart before the horse with Alan. The main lodge was a four-story cabin-style building with snow three feet thick on the roof and icicles hanging down along the eaves, making it look like a gingerbread masterpiece. A deserted one—there were no lights, no other cars, nothing.

  Noah pulled into the front row. “It looks finished.”

  “Not on the inside.” Turning in her seat, she glanced uneasily behind them. “We lost them?”

  “No. They’re still back there, lying low.”

  Her stomach dropped at his easy acceptance of the trouble they were in. “I don’t see them.”

  “That’s because they don’t want to be seen.” He had one arm along the back of her seat, the other on the console in front of her. He looked big, bad, slightly attitude ridden, and…worried.

  About her.

  She didn’t want to see that, didn’t want to know he cared.

  “Truth time,” he said quietly.

  He was surrounding her. It would be so easy to sink into his strength. Instead, she fumbled behind her for the door handle, pressing away from him. “Thanks for the ride, I’ll just—”

  He slid his warm hand to hers, halting her movements. “What? What exactly are you going to do, Bailey?”

  Find the money.

  Turn it over.

  And then hopefully live to a ripe old age somewhere warm, somewhere quiet.

  To that effect, she shrugged off Noah’s hand and opened the door of the Jeep. Icy night air instantly hit her in the face, sapping the very breath from her lungs. Her feet sank into the snow. Already she couldn’t feel her fingers, but she managed to grab her bag. “Take good care of yourself.”

  “Bailey, wait—”

  “I can’t. But thanks. Thanks for…” She offered a feeble smile. “Everything.”

  “Damn it, hang on—”

  She shut the door. She imagined him swearing colorfully, but it was now or never because she was losing her nerve. The strain of keeping the truth to herself, and therefore keeping herself alive, was seriously beginning to wear on her.

  She turned toward the gigantic resort in front of her. With Alan’s death, construction had come to a grinding halt.

  Actually, that had happened when it had been discovered that he’d siphoned all of his money out of the business accounts. He owed millions of dollars, and yet the money had vanished into thin air.

  Or so she’d thought.

  Now Stephen was out there, sure she knew where Alan had hidden it, and he was on her tail.

  Literally.

  If she hadn’t already felt like a frozen popsicle, the thought of what he’d promised to do to her would have made her blood go cold.

  But she couldn’t get any colder.

  Behind her, the driver’s door to the Jeep opened. Refusing to acknowledge the small, tiny beat of hope, not to mention relief, she began walking, fast, toward the buildings, her every step sinking into the snow so that it crept up her boots, and then inside them.

  “Goddamnit,” Noah muttered, grabbing her arm, bringing her around, his free hand coming up to her hip to hold her still. “I said wait.”

  She wondered if he really did that on purpose, took such care in order not to hurt her, but even as she wondered, she knew it was true. He did take care not to hurt her. Just the thought brought a lump to her throat. She was so glad to have him here, with her, but she needed to get rid of him before they arrived, before they hurt him, too. “Go back, Noah.”

  “No.”

  “I mean it,” she said, her voice quivering. “You don’t know. You—”

  “Shh.”

  “Need to go back—”

  “No, I mean really, shut up.”

  Oh, God, now she heard it. An engine. Accompanying this was a beam of headlights, a car making its way up the road.

  Toward them.

  “Hurry.” He pulled her stumbling through the snow, slipping an arm around her to rush her along. Her bag banged painfully at her side, and she was so cold each movement was agony, but she didn’t slow down, couldn’t with the grip he had on her.

  “How do we get in?” he asked as they reached the closest structure.

  “This way,” she said, and they ran past the large double front doors, along the side of the building.

  The headlights bounced off the snow in front of them, and she whipped around to look. It was one of the SUVs. The driver made his way across the parking lot, using his high beams to scan the buildings.

  Noah pressed her back against the corner of the building, where they were hidden from view. He held her there with his body, the same body she’d lusted after more than once. She was so cold she felt as if she could shatter, yet being against him was heaven. A half-pained, half-aroused sound escaped her, one she was helpless to control, and he immediately pressed his mouth to her ear. “Don’t move.”

  His body heat began to sink into her, so delicious she nearly opened her frozen lips and said, “I won’t move ever again if you don’t.” Every inch of him was pressed snugly up against her: chest to chest, thighs to thighs, and everything in between….

  The sound left her again, horrifying in its neediness.

  “Shh,” he said again, and slid a finger over her lips in warning.

  Or so she assumed, because she doubted he’d meant the touch to feel lik